Darkly (Follow Me 4)

“Right,” I say. “Good to know you listen to me.”

“God, Braden, why wouldn’t I listen? You’re an expert at business. Look what you’ve done.”

I nod. Yes, I did it. With Ben’s help. With…some other help that I don’t like to think about.

Skye continues, “So I called the person who emailed me, Tammy Monroe, to get some further clarification. I tell her how scared I am of plummeting to my death from a balloon, and she assures me how safe it is, how it’s controlled by the FAA and all. She offers me a test ride for free, and if it’s not my thing, I can bow out. So I agree to go on a balloon ride the next day.”

“How was it?”

“It wasn’t,” she says.

I lift my eyebrows again.

“I mean it didn’t happen. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We talked about payment, and I followed your advice. I didn’t take the first offer, except that I actually did, because she explained they were a small operation and couldn’t offer the kind of money Susanne could.”

“Okay,” I say. “You asked. That’s what’s important.”

“So I agreed. I agreed because I’m new at this and I want my name out there.”

I nod. “I can’t fault your logic.”

“So it’s all decided. Tammy emails me the contract, and I sign it electronically and send it back. Then—seriously, like, a minute later—I get an email back from her canceling the balloon ride for the next day. She said they didn’t have availability after all. Still, I expect her to send the countersigned contract later.”

“Why didn’t she send it with the email?”

“Well, I’m getting to that. I get in Instagram to check my first Susanne post, and it’s doing really well. That makes me think of Addie, so I head to her profile out of curiosity.”

“You haven’t blocked her?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“I saw the nasty comments she made on your first Susanne post.”

“Did you? I deleted them as soon as I saw them.” She smiles coyly. “Are you checking up on me?”

I’m a grown man. I don’t embarrass easily. But at this moment, my cheeks are warming. “Just curious,” I say. “About your new venture. I figured you’d block her.”

“I thought about it pretty seriously,” she says, “but I ultimately decided not to for a couple of reasons.”

“Which are…?”

“Well, she’s a major influencer, so I can learn a lot from how she does things.”

“And the real reason?” I ask.

She smiles. “You’re too much. How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“Ancient secret,” I say. Except it’s no secret at all. Much of Skye reminds me of myself.

“The real reason,” she says, “is twofold. I don’t want to be the immature person who can’t deal with anyone who disagrees with me. That’s Addie, not me. And I also want to keep an eye on her.”

“Well done,” I say.

“I have a good teacher.”

She smiles again, and damn, that chain is calling me.

“So,” she continues, “I get on her profile, and you’ll never guess what I find.”